Happy Birthday
by EgaoMiyuki
Summary: One Shot / / Zoro x Sanji / / Rated T for Language / / Happy Birthday Zoro!


**Happy Birthday [November 11th]**

**One Piece**

**Zoro x Sanji**

Weeks sailed by since the Thousand Sunny last docked on an island. The food stock ran dangerously low, so dangerous that Sanji ended up locking all the cabinets with heavy duty combination locks. Not only did the lack of ingredients annoy the chef, Zoro was irked on how _his_ sake bottles were also padlocked from his grasp.

There was no point in quarrel when the cook would simply refuse to allow him to access the cupboards. So, the swordsman was determined to drink a cup or two while on one of his night shifts.

With light steps, Zoro tip toed to the kitchen door and slowly swung it open. He was greeted with a blast of bright light and the smell of something sweet. His eyes squinted, readjusting to the sudden change in the well lit room. When his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed he wasn't alone. Sanji was there, back facing him, steadily whisking away in a bowl.

It appeared that he had not noticed the green hair man entering his sanctuary, but the other knew better. Ever since they returned from their two year training, the pirates knew how much their crew improved, especially for developing Haki. Sanji had sensed the swordsman the moment he snuck through the door, but continued to cook as if he were invisible.

Zoro took a seat at the long table, and leaned back with his arms crossed. His eyes followed the chef's movements as he added several ingredients, mixed, sifted, and other things cooks do. It was difficult for him to stay awake, due to the heavy silence in the air causing the urge to take a nap. But eventually his lids gave in, providing a black curtain between his eyes and the cook.

He was then woken, for what seemed to be several seconds later, by the sudden noise of clanging dishes and the rush of water. Sanji was cleaning his station, it was part of his mild case of kitchen OCD to always keep everything in tip top shape and organized. A grumble escaped from Zoro's stomach and he remembered the reason why he came. His booze was waiting.. somewhere in the kitchen guarded by a perverted curly eyebrow. He sighed, knowing fully well he wasn't going to get it that night. So he stood up, ready to head back to the Crow's nest.

"Oi, marimo," Sanji called, not bothering to turn around, "Stay put, it's almost done."

'_Done?'_ the swordsman's eyebrow rose, '_What was almost done?'_

Not exactly wanting to comply with him, but he chose to stay anyways. Curiosity can certainly be a killer to your inner voice. Slowly he dragged his feet back to the seat and sat back down.

Several minutes of silence passed by before a repeating alarm beeped for several seconds until Sanji pressed a button. He bent low to grab something from the oven, but Zoro's view was blocked by the cook's behind. Whatever he took out was then placed on the counter, again covered by his body. It remained so for several minutes and when Zoro had just about enough waiting, Sanji glanced at him, finally meeting eye contact.

"Close your eyes," he instructed the swordsman.

"Huh?"

"Just do it, Marino."

Zoro reluctantly shut his eyes until he was told to reopen them. When he did a small light flickered in front of him. It was a flame of a single candle propped in the middle of a circular cake. The pastry was small, but big enough for a single person. It had smooth and even layer of white frosting completely covering every corner. The edges were trimmed with a fine line of green icing that matched the Santoryu's hair color. But it wasn't just the cake that surprised him. It was the writing on top in black cursive.

_Happy Birthday_

A metal fork was placed down next to Zoro's left hand and he barely caught a voice muttering softly, "Happy birthday, Zoro."

"What?" The swordsman flicked his head to the cook, unsure if he heard him correctly, "Did you say something, Curly Brow?"

Sanji had completely turned back around after setting down the dish and returned to the sink, "The hell, moss ball. You're crazy."

A faint blush crept up Sanji's cheeks as Zoro said, "Thanks."

A light breath was enough to blow out the candle and Zoro gingerly plucked it out before placing it on the side of the plate. He picked up the fork and cut a small portion, large enough to balance on the fork prongs. The cake was creme colored with a soft and spongy texture. It didn't crumble as most cakes would, but stayed packed together until it entered Zoro's mouth. The fluffy pastry was sweet with vanilla frosting, but it wasn't overpowering to the strawberries layered in between. Then a familiar taste pounced in Zoro's mouth. It had the flavor of his most favorite thing.

_Sake._

Normally it wouldn't be in a cake, but the cook had done an excellent job at using it has a light syrup in between the layers.

A smile tugged on the corners of the swordsman's face and the fork dug back into his new favorite sweet, _'That shitty cook isn't half bad.'_


End file.
